Highlights

Realme U1 will be the first phone to receive the update

Realme is also adding bootloader unlock support for Realme 2 Pro, Realme

The update will add newly designed camera watermark to all phones

Realme has released the January software update schedule for five for its smartphones. These phones are Realme U1, Realme 2, Realme C1, Realme 2 Pro, and Realme 1. The company has stated that the updates will start rolling out beginning the middle of January and will continue over February. The Realme U1 will be the first phone to get this monthly software update. Additionally, Realme has revealed that it plans to provide the bootloader unlock option as well as kernel sources for its Realme 2 Pro and Realme 1 phones.

According to a post on the official Realme forum, the Oppo spinoff has not determined the exact rollout dates of the January update for Realme U1, Realme 2, Realme C1, Realme 2 Pro, or the Realme 1 but the company did share a tentative timeline. As per the company post, the Realme U1 update is expected to start in mid-January and will be followed by the update for Realme 2, Realme C1, and Realme 2 Pro by the end of the month. The Realme 1 will however get the update in February.

Realme also stated that the bootloader unlock support the official kernel sources for the Realme 2 Pro will be released by January 15, whereas the same for Realme 1 will be offered around the middle of next month. This timetable is in line with the company's original announcement that was made in November.

Additionally, Realme has announced what it plans to include in the January update for all the five phones. According to the company, the update will bring the newly designed camera watermark and Android security patch for the month to all smartphones. The Realme U1 and Realme 1 will also get reboot option in the shutdown interface as a part of the update. Further, the Realme U1's January update will also include optimised reminders when Developer Options, Accessibility Mode, and Device Manager are on. Lastly, the update will bring the Realme Material Design theme to Realme C1 and Realme 2 phones.

As always, the software update will be offered in a phase manner whenever they are released and not all users will receive them on the very first day. The company has also promised to the manual download links for the update packages on the website on a later date.

Is Realme U1 essentially Redmi Note 6 Pro on steroids? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.